Manmade Wonders Of The Water

In the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil catastrophe, it became easy to focus on the technological failures and our current inability to tame the ocean depths. The difficulty of operating machinery so far below the surface was one of the most prevailing themes throughout the entire ordeal, making it seem like we humans are ineffectual and powerless in the face of the ocean's great might. In light of that, it might be time to take a look at some of mankind's amazing maritime technological achievements.

Underwater Hotels have been a running joke in the tourism industry for years. So many different grandeous plans have been announced all with such fanfaire, but none of the major luxury underwater resorts have really come to fruition, until now.

The Poseidon Undersea Resort in Fiji is supposed to have recently opened, although it still seems to by wrapped in mystery, hence the location "Mystery Island." It's expensive, one week costs $15,000, and only two of those nights do you get to spend in an underwater suite, but the all-angle view is one of a kind. There are other undersea resorts in the works, most notably Coral World Park in the Philippines and Hydropolis in Dubai. Of course, the original underwater hotel is the Jules Undersea Lodge in Florida.

Manmade Islands seem to be all the rage in the world of luxury real estate. More than mere dredged-up sandbars, these marvels can be first rate pieces of heaven. One of the first of these private paradises to be constructed is Venetian Islands in Miami, built in the 1920s. Others include The Pearl-Qatar, Sentosa Island in Singapore, Balboa Island in California and Eden Island in the Seychelles. But the most notable has to be...

The World Islands in Dubai, a series of 300 islands in the shape of the continents, all to be made into estate islands plus residential and resort communities.

Super Yachts are nothing new, but they seem to be getting more 'super' all the time. Case in point, P. Diddy's Luxury Yacht "Solemates" which is controlled by 14 iPads that command such functions as all on-board entertainment, including a wall of LCD panels, climate settings, blinds--even summoning the crew for refreshments. Recently the co-founder of Google bought a $45 million, 193-foot super yacht, "Senses," that features a helicopter pad, gym, split-level sun decks, sheltered and exposed dining areas and 10 luxury suites. That's nothing, Paul Allen's "Octopus" is twice the size at 415 feet, while Larry Ellison's new "Rising Sun," is even longer at 454 feet. But even those yachts are mere toys compared to the Streets of Monaco.

This 500 foot long, nearly 1 billion dollar marvel features scaled-down versions of Monico's famous landmarks, including the Monte Carlo Casino and racetrack, Hotel de Paris, Cafe de Paris, La Rascasse, the Loews Hotel, swimming pools, tennis courts and a Monaco Grand Prix-inspired go-kart track zooming through a tunnel complex running around the deck.

Ostentatious, maybe. Impractical, for sure. But these manmade wonders of the water remind us of our ability to dream and to achieve.

sources: business.inquirer.net, towerreview.wordpress.com, hotelchatter.com, intlistings.com,avsforum.com, nypost.com, thesun.co.uk photo: poseidonresorts.com, destination360.com, thesun.co.uk

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